The 9th edition of the Africities summit just ended and it has been an explosive summit. If I was told to describe it in two words, it would be enlightening and insightful. Africa is a very beautiful place with the right resources and collaboration with the UN habitats and appropriate sectors. African intermediary cities can grow and the future for the young African child can be secured in comfort. The just-concluded Africities summit which was held in Kisumu offers and proposes the blueprint and strategy for Africa’s Urbanization and Sustainable Goals development.
Maimunah Mohd Shariff, executive director of the UN-Habitat, said in her speech that it would be a major battle for the coming generation to get a job and live comfortably if the urban agenda in Africa is not changed. It was further noted that rapid urbanization has left the intermediary cities neglected thereby creating more slums in Africa.
Here are some proposed strategies for the 9th Africities summit.
Health Care and Food Security
President Uhuru Kenyatta spoke on the health-care system in Africa. He said “Today, I call upon African cities to be solution-oriented. Our health care services are still not up to the standard. As Africans, we need to join hands and ensure our people have access to better health care,’’. We need a better healthcare system in Africa to ensure that Africans have access to an adequate case system. He also said proper planning of intermediary cities and municipalities is needed to ensure that Africa is well equipped to face future challenges.
The Clean Air Cities program launched by C40
This program is based on the fact that breathing clean air is important for growth and it is a human right. It is a great step to combat air pollution which has been the cause of thousands of deaths in Africa. C40 launched this program in a bid to help Africa Cities improve public health and air quality for everyone. It is important to note that10 African cities signed to join the C40 clean air cities program.
The battle against climate change must be won.
The climate condition in Africa has to be better. According to John Kerry, African cities must be in a position to have a cleaner, healthier and safer environment for the climate to be better. This stems from how the intermediary cities are treated. Coming up with a quick initiative is also another way to improve the climate. An initiative like Forest reservation.
Unity is needed amidst Africa Cities to make Africa shine bright and become a sustainable place for the future. Just like the theme for the 9th Africities summit, “The role of intermediary cities in Africa in the implementation of the UN Agenda 2030 and the African Union Agenda 2063“. It was established that the intermediary cities are really important in establishing a sustainable African community. More important, the change we seek can be from the bottom upwards.
The Africities summit is a packed one and we can only look forward to the change we will see from the discussions and lessons from the summit. All in all, the summit was a big success.
